All 10 finalist videos are now being reviewed by our expert panel of judges:

Rob Aldrich, director of community conservation at the Land Trust Alliance

Judy Anderson, principal at Community Consultants

Ken Fisher, founder of Truth Be Told

Sybil Stewart, human resources manager at the Land Trust Alliance

Elizabeth Ward, vice president of communication at the Land Trust Alliance

The judges will score the finalist videos using the following criteria: 30 percent originality, 30 percent demonstration of how the subject is connected to the land, 30 percent compelling nature of the video and 10 percent quality of the video. We will announce the winners Dec. 7, so stay tuned!

And what do the winners receive, you ask? Third prize gets $1,000; second prize gets $2,000; and first prize gets $4,000. The first-prize winner additionally chooses a land trust to receive $10,000 directly from the Land Trust Alliance. (The land trust selected must be a member of the Alliance, verifiable on Find a Land Trust.) This unrestricted gift can be used in whatever way the land trust feels is best!

We loved seeing so many excellent videos entered in this contest — and we were thrilled to see so many votes cast. So many of you sent in positive feedback about how this contest helped you engage with your community that we are considering repeating the contest in 2017. Thank you to all who participated and stay tuned for the final results!

Rob Aldrich is community conservation director for the Land Trust Alliance.